13 Dramatic Sopranos sing Lady Macbeth's Act 1 climax (Or tutti sorgete)
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- Опубликовано: 21 май 2022
- Part 5 of my "Dramatic sopranos sing..." series. Thirteen dramatic sopranos sing the climax of Lady Macbeth's Act 1 letter scene (Nel dì della vittoria - Vieni! taffretta! - Or tutti sorgete). One of the most difficult roles for the female voice and Verdi did not go easier elsewhere in the opera either.
Featured artists:
Martha Mödl
Astrid Varnay
Birgit Nilsson
Maria Callas
Leonie Rysanek
Shirley Verrett
Gwyneth Jones
Grace Bumbry
Ghena Dimitrova
Elizabeth Connell
Anna Pirozzi
Liudmyla Monastyrska
Saioa Hernández
*Some singers here are not pure dramatic sopranos but I think still make a convincing portrayal.
Maria has by far the hardest, fastest tempo and STILL manages to be the only one who actually sings it accurately on full heavy voice. Unmatched.
Callas ticks all the boxes here. She has the vocal weight, the range _and_ the virtuosity required to do the role justice.
1952 rome version is even heavier than here...
Stefano, La Divina is on another level. Callas. Then other great !great Opera artist. Callas is the bible of Opera.... She is a true pedogog. She did not have the vice that the public usual knows. But her musicality, interpretation. Drama and wisdom in the theatre is unmatched.
Callas's voice is like a sumo wrestler's, fiercely performing acrobatics at an Olympic competition.
EXTREMELY HUGE VOICE, YET EXTREMELY AGILE, BEAUTIFUL AND EXPRESSIVE, La Primadonna, Madam CALLAS!!!!!!!! What a delivery!!!! My wig is snatched!!!!!
Everyone stating that Callas had the best is because her conductor knew how to set her up for success in the leading run. Go back and listen. None of the other conductors knew how to set their soprano up for success and perhaps they did not care. Viva Callas!
Callas and Verrett for their accuracy in the vocal technique and their musicality.
Callas and Varnay for their gorgeous voices.
CALLAS AND VERRETT for me!
A Callas nadie la alcanza, saludos cordiales ❤❤❤
@@laprimmadonna2341 Estoy de acuerdo y mucho menos en este papel
This air is very difficult to master. Maria Callas is the only one who can hold up a singing line. Right winds, perfect legate and safety in managing all the air, make her the most effective interpreter
These days, just impossible to hear it on the stage without many mistakes, wrong notes and several groups of notes that just not come out at all!
This is the kind of dark character that I like to hear Maria Callas sing - I agree with the comments below. Coloratura is brilliant. I absolutely adore Saioa Hernandez here. This clip sent me searching for her performance.
Yes, Saioa Hernandez! who has yet to reach her prime. Imagine when she does. A protege of Madame Caballé who is doing her proud.
The great Maria Callas had it all...
Callas unquestionably takes the prize for this role!
And the Oscar goes to Maria Callas. She was so unmatched in this role and i always get in trouble to be openminded for other Ladys.
No trouble here. Absolutely agree with you
@@neuberg7315 , indeed. Maria owns three roles for sure: Lady Macbeth, Medea and Norma. It's lonesome on the Olymp.
Callas owns many roles apart from these. Tosca (1951, 1952 ), la traviata (1951,1952 both are much better than anyone else with heroic weight and power along with exquisite coloratura, that no one else has), armida 1952, puritani I 1952, nabucco 1949, aida 1951, il trovatore 1951, I vespri siciliani, la gioconda 1952, rigoletto 1952
@@gr__msk , to be honest: Callas did everything on highest standards. But i think, whenever her personal character meets a role matched with this- then happened opera history. We all know- she wasn't a lovely character and she was on top in these roles.
@@Sir.Larselotque Callas no era encantadora? Era maravillosa… saludos cordiales ❤❤❤
In Callas You can hear every sinle word, every single note hit perfectly, agility, drama and power... the other are ok, but callas wouldn´t hold back
Callas has everything!!
@Walter Monteagudo indeed, in sens of: her voice produce a big strong impression. 👍
Callas of course is unbeatable in this role (imho) Verrett and Bumbry give good performances and Connell for 64/5 is impressive. It's a shame Jones wasn't at her best here, I've heard her sing a lot better!
The ones I truly love are the following singers. Birgit Nilsson's fiery attack on the notes. Maria Callas throwing herself in with total abandon helped by precision and sheer theatricality. Leonie Rysanek's super blazing top notes. Shirley Verrett's fierceness in making every note run and fly like the wind. Grace Bumbry's chesty earthiness which has helped her climb that High B rather effectively. Ghena Dimitrova's sheer power in giving it her all with abandon. Elizabeth Connell's sheer fearlessness showing that she still had the goods.
Callas, the greatest Lady Macbeth ever.
Callas is a goddess the rest just mere mortals.
Callas obviously takes the cake but brava to Varnay on commanding such a colossal voice on such a demanding passage.
My goodness… I never realized how difficult this aria was. I always listened to Callas and she sings it with such ease, like it’s nothing. Now that you put them side by side, the others are like sluggish, falling apart, gasping for air, omitting entire lines in order to deliver the part. The final quadruplets have them dying omg haha. Callas was a monster! While the rest clearly struggle, Callas simply sails the whole thing unchallenged.
Nillson was the worst lol
You hit the nail on the head here. Putting them all side by side really makes Callas' superiority totally clear.
My God! It's not only live on stage thta we see them all suffer, apart from Callas, sure!. So, for all those people who talk so unkindlly about her voice, technique, etc, they just need to hear this to begin to understand what we've been saying for years now: Callas first. Allways, and the good singers follow her kindly!
it's funny you should say that, i think most were serviceable (not saying flawless) and only Anna Pirozzi and Liudmyla Monastyrska really stuck out as being unfit for the aria. i don't disagree that Callas has the best interpretation of this particular bunch (and one of the best in general), but there is a lot that is redeeming about many of the others, especially Shirley Verrett.
i am also surprised for people in this thread to pick on Birgit Nilsson, who is by all accounts an incredible singer (not to mention was famous for her portrayal of Turandot among others which makes me skeptical that this rep would be difficult for her), and not those two i named who clearly struggle much more and do not remotely compare to Nilsson in terms of her place in music history. also, consider the size of the voice - Nilsson's voice was massive! Pirozzi and Monastryska are somewhat difficult to hear over the orchestra in these performances. they also don't appear to follow classic bel canto technique, evident in the sound and the visual
Callas the ultimate diva
Callas, without a doubt.
Definitely the ultimate interpretation.
Aside from her, I also enjoy Verrett, Bumbry (have always thought she was a dramatic soprano acting as a mezzo), Dimitrova and Connell.
@@dramaticsoprano5168 Dimitrova is too throaty and I've never been a fan of Connell. And I prefer Varnay over both Verrett and Bumbry.
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 I wouldn’t call it ‘throatiness’ with Dimitrova but I think I understand what you mean. It sounds like she used a less forward placement than other singers, and the sound resonated lower in her body.
Connell had average agility but I find her huge voice very thrilling. Having seen her live, I think she could give Nilsson a run for her money in terms of volume.
@@dramaticsoprano5168 Dimitrova and Connell are too veristic for Lady Macbeth and I really, REALLY don’t like Nilsson’s low notes.
CALLAS ETERNA POR SIEMPRE
Rysanek voce fuori ruolo
Jones_ calante e inascoltabile
Callas, Nilsson, Dimitrova_ sublimi
Hernàndez, Connel _ bravissime
Varnay, Monastryrska,Bumbry _ molto brave
Pirozzi _brava ma leggera per il ruolo
The greatest I ever heard was Rita Hunter, in the theatre and on CD. Stunning. Though having said that, full credit to anyone with the voice to attempt this part.
Thank you for the video!
I tried to find Hunter's version of this but was unable to on RUclips. Do you have a link by any chance?
@@dramaticsoprano5168 I don't have a link. The London performance was released on CD. I think by Opera Rara.
Callas is the one. And I am a huge Rysanek fan.
Callas must be awarded first prize in this music, if only for one section, the final roulades up to the C. Every single note in a fast passage perfectly distinct, and in strict time. This is great bel canto style. I heard Verrett in the part in Boston in the mid 70’s, where she was wonderful. I remember her though in better voice than here, where she is quite screechy. Also, like Rad. and Fleming, she always insisted on closing Italian vowels that are open: ‘deb-bo’, not ‘deeb-o’. (Fleming was quite properly castigated for her ridiculous ‘Alfree-do’ in ‘Traviata’.)
I agree, interesting how Mödl did not even attempt them but still went for the top note even though she was never really a ‘high note singer’. I think it shows how much harder those ‘quadruplets’ are than the top note.
However, technically that top note is supposed to be a B, not a C. So either Callas is slightly sharp or the tape speed is incorrect. I guess that’s the only nitpick one could make.
I played some rehearsals for the Opera Company of Boston’s production BEFORE the Verrett one. Hanne-Lore Kuhse was the Lady Macbeth in that one. It is just as well she didn’t make this list.
@@dramaticsoprano5168 Modl and Hongen make adjustments in the score to suit their dramatic mezzo voices such as an A flat instead of a D flat in the Sleepwalking scene. Hongen adjusts cadenzas to avoid high C. Viardot made several transposition and adjustments as she was really a mezzo.
@@dramaticsoprano5168 the tape sound is faster than what it needs to be. Callas obliterates them all in this repertoire.
Callas, hands down.
Callas is the most perfect Macbeth! She lacks nothing! My second favorite is Birgit Nilsson! 🎉 and Shirley Varret!
You can't beat Verrett, one of the best Lady Macbeths of her generation. And remember --- she was a mezzo! Cheers.
Or course Callas slaps Verrett into pieces. Thicker vocal chord, better low middle and high notes, better chest voice, better coloratura, bigger squillo.
I think Bumbry is better than Verrett here. But Callas tops them both--and everyone else--by far.
@@jamesnickoloff6692 I am pleased to agree with you, James: Bumbry really surpasses Verrett here, which had not always happened. Both singers had a large range, but for this part, I think it turned out to be important that Verrett was organically still a mezzo who went to conquer the mainland soprano; Bumbry was just a soprano with good bottoms.
@Alexandr Polyakov huh... gotta say i completely disagree with your assessment lol. Bumbry was 100% a dramatic mezzo with a slight top extension which she relied on for her "soprano" career.
@@CASantos There is nothing terrible with the fact that you "completely disagree" with me. You are far from the first and certainly not the last who has no idea what a mezzo-soprano should sound like. Convincing a layman is a thankless task, from which, with your permission, I will refrain. Best regards.
There's something very amusing about seeing a picture of Gwyneth Jones in The Merry Widow, while singing Lady Macbeth in the background!
She was flat.
MacBeth IS Maria Callas. No one else.❤
You must hear the brazilian dramatic soprano Áurea Gomez, she was a classmate of Dimitrova at La Scalla's school
In no specific order, my favorites are Callas, Verrett, and Varnay
1 - Maria Callas
2 - Ghena Dimitrova
3 - Saioa Hernández
4 -Grace Bumbry
5 -Gwyneth Jones
Verrett deserves a mention...
she breaks the singing line so no
@@Antonio-qm3bi
If I had to give a mention it would be to Elizabeth Connell !
@@Gabriel-hs9mv Hernandez breaks belcanto rules. No agility at all...
Callas has the best coloratura, however, I don’t feel that this is her best recording of this aria. The low notes are barely audible, which is strange because Callas had such a beautiful and powerful low chest register. Nilsson had such a stunningly large voice, but her coloratura leaves much to be desired. I adore Verret! I have always associated her with this role because of how addictive the recording she did at La Scala with Placibo Domingo.
Rome version has better low registers and even bigger voice but slower tempo. This one has better coloratura tho.
From all this examples, the only one who is in control of the written music is Callas.
Oh well, my dear Swedish songbird Nilsson.. A definitive voice for sure, but occasionally she lack a flexibility for the role. But what a moment! Beside lack of some trills also, this voice is perfect for Lady M.
I still maintain that her way of slightly pausing before the attack on her titanic top notes is not idiomatic Italian singing.
@@ransomcoates546 that was telephone bell hour in 1963 I guess. Not her best. But she wasn't always an enigma for Italian approach. She was a stubborn Wagnerian, not an completely italianate soprano. However, I found her Aida (Sweden in 1956) one of her most ltalianate of them all. A glorious perfomance for sure.
@@omarsomehow69 I agree about her ‘Aida’, which showed that she could scale down her enormous voice to a quite idiomatic Italian pp.
@@omarsomehow69 Her Tosca was unbeatable. Metropolitan Guide to recordings states unequivocally that it is the best recorded Tosca.
@@Operafreak9 it likes her performance but as a whole performance the Guide picks Callas 1953
Callas, Callas and Callas. Ultimate interpretation.
I am NOT a fawning Callas-ite that treats her like she could do no wrong (you know who you are), but I will always give her credit when it’s warranted, and she was technically superb here. I’m always ALWAYS partial to Verrett in this role- I think no one ever sang it or acted it better than she did (even the ridiculous claques at La Scala would agree). Bumbry made it her own as she did so many other roles, and Dimitrova- well it’s hard to argue with a wall of sound that has that much flexibility.
Fantástico recopilatorio
Gracias, mucha gracias, tu vídeo me ha servido para comprobar que nadie absolutamente nadie hasta el día de hoy ha sido o es mejor que la Callas en esta parte y en este rol…esta fue uno de sus grandes creaciones, la Lady Macbeth del siglo XX, de nuevo Gracias.❤❤❤❤
Di Sabata is even able to make Callas late, with his strange tempi (the same in the Sonnambulismo).
she was late for a fraction of a second
@@-giakhanh--kayden-8337 I am not the only one to find all his tempi too fast, even in the sleepwalking scene, it ruins the music. Anyone else than Callas would have fallen down.
@@foropera i agree that the sleepwalking scene tempi were a travesty. imagine the amount of drama she could've pull from that...
@@foropera Well, he kinda hated her, so it might have been on purpose.
Callas, no questionnnn.
Gwyneth Jones sounds 1/2 step lower than the others, but she was surprising for me. Grace was nice too. My favorites will always be Callas and Verrett. Oh, Dimitrova is also excellent!
I believe Monastyrska's was a 1/2 step lower too.
I heard live performances from two other magnificent Lady Macbeths: Adelaida Negri and Andrea Gruber. MS Gruber's performance was unfortunately overshadowed by a young unknown (then) singer named Joseph Calleja being in the cast (Seattle).
Astrid Varnay, Ghena Dimitrova, Guineth Jones.
María callas la mejor ❤️❤️❤️❤️
While some are better than others I think they are all pretty good Lady Ms
Callas, for sure. She’s the only one who actually has control over the proceedings. Almost everybody else is just hanging on for dear life. Bumbry gives quite a good showing here. A few of them could have done better with better conductors.
Callas!
Callas and Verrett 👏👏👏
María Callas sin ninguna duda. Luego de Callas, Verrett... a cierta distancia.
Callas is the best ❤
I think that Callas is the best here, followed by Verrett, Bumbry, and Dimitrova (in no particular order - all very respectable). But I would say that of the four, Dimitrova is the only dramatic soprano. Callas is more of a dramatic coloratura with a highly developed chest voice and a dark timbre, but ultimately a higher tessitura. Meanwhile, Verrett and (maybe) Bumbry are more falcon mezzos.
Dramatic coloratura wasn't a fach until Ponselle mentioned it.. I don't get why is everybody says Callas isn't true dramatic soprano.. Her vocal weight was darker and heavier than Dimitrova. Her Lady Macbeth rome version are heavier, bigger, darker chest voice than here.. Her Gioconda also have deeper vocal weight than Ponselle herself. People mistaken Callas's voice as a mezzo when she started her career.. It means her vocal weight is very heavy. You can tell her duet with Oralia Dominguez that she almost had quality like a Mezzo..
@@awokwok1029 I think there is a conflation of weight with colour. I think Callas’s colour was dark, but that her vocal weight wasn’t that heavy. This is reflected in how her tessitura was high, and in how her voice was even early on not a great fit for later 19th century rep, compared to earlier rep. One can hear in the Gioconda you mention actually. She compensated at the very bottom with great chest tones, but she couldn’t do the same in the lower-middle, so they come off as weak. (Granted, that partly had to do with technique rather than the basic characteristics of her voice.) Another way to put this is that one can also hear it generally in rep that demand a lot of volume around A/B. Her voice did better in rep that tops out a little bit higher.
I think the basic distinction that Ponselle made between a dramatic soprano with coloratura capabilities and a coloratura soprano with dramatic capabilities is basically correct. It explains why Ponselle had to transpose Norma, but also why she was more successful in works like Forza and Aida, vocally speaking.
@@ER1CwC *I was a very heavy voice, that is my nature, a dark voice shall we call it, and I was always kept on the light side. She always trained me to keep my voice limber* - Maria Callas
Her voice was definitely heavy. She lighten her voice so most of you think that she is not a real dramatic soprano.
@@ER1CwC ruclips.net/video/s37itqU9L-U/видео.html also another version of her Lady Macbeth, still her voice wasn't that heavy? 😂😂
@@awokwok1029 I’m not saying that her voice wasn’t heavy. I’m saying that it wasn’t in the same weight category as those whom I consider real dramatic sopranos. Again, I base my assessment on her tessitura, and on the fact that her voice came under pressure in heavy lower rep, even in the early days. It’s not a knock on her at all. She is my favourite. (I don’t take that self-evaluation of hers seriously though. I have considered it over the years and rejected it.)
Lady Macbeth was a great fit for her. But I think it was a great fit precisely because it has more in common with roles like Norma than late Verdi, let alone the big Wagner roles.
Coloratura was not one of Nilssons’ best qualities.
Modl doesn't even bother to sing the scale up to the B5.... not good. The supreme here is Callas of course.
Excepto Callas, Verret y Dimitrova, el resto destroza la línea melódica
Callas 💪🏻
Callas , Callas y después Callas .
Y hasta el fin de los tiempos... Callas.
@@LeanrossoAsí es! Bien dicho, saludos cordiales ❤❤❤
Calllas, Verrett. Did service to Verdi's music.
I have always wondered why none of the great Italian dramatic sopranos of the past - Mazzoleni, Russ, Boninsegna ever recorded any parts of this opera-. Gina Cigna actually sang this role at La Scala in the early 30's but didn't record anything from it.
Why nobody mentions Hernandez? She has everything. Voice, quality, dramatic power, top notes, articulation, she has lot of spare power as well
she breaks the singing line slightly, very very slightly at 8:26. But then again all but Callas do it so she’s definitely one of the best
She lacks the flexibility in the rising passages of the coloratura. Strong voice, but not swift enough.
Because she is a proper dramatic soprano, who has everything apart from high flexibility. Do you remember Nilson singing Donna Anna? Or do you remember Flagstad singing coloratura? This is the price that dramatic voices pay for their power. Not a very high price, is it not? Btw I think that for this size her voice is very flexible
and kind regards
@@izabelaratusinska842 Yes, Hernández is wonderful--a powerful dramatic. The problem is that once you have Callas's performance (with the power of a dramatic soprano and the flexibility of a coloratura soprano) in your memory, all others fail to thrill in the same way. It's the difference between an excellent steak dinner and a meal for the ages which one never forgets.
Dal vivo La Dimitrova.
Questa registrazione scarsa purtroppo è molto lontano dalla verità artistica .
il vecchio
PLEASE listen to Margherita Grandi's Lady Macbeth, her recordings of full performance were even earlier than Callas's 1952 version.
Grandi had a great voice but she was a lyric soprano.
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 Thanks for your reply! And I wonder what you think of the other Margherita, Margherita Roberti. I find her Odabella and Abigaille fascinating.
@@beatriceyoung161 Not a fan of Roberti.
Christina Deutekom was able to sing this perfectly, including all the coloraturas.
Deutekom, given her lack of Bel Canto training, sounded as a a turkey in every vocalize, scale, whatever. Given that the repertoire she chosed, was full of these, she always sounded as a turkey, an aspirated, sloppy, horrible turkey singing. That big range of hers was useless, given this.
She's horrible
@@luisdavidalvarezcorrales8882 Ah, another uneducated youtube expert full of shit! 🙂
You forgot Souliotis who is very good here ruclips.net/video/ijmh2mkeH4g/видео.html.
This is by far my favourite Callas role, the top in 1952 was still ringing and the voice had flesh. The character suited her personality and she could set fire to the stage. Only the opening recitativo in 1952 was bizarre. She didn't know how to handle it but nailed it later on. Bumbry also excellent. And search for Grandi and De Osma singing this scene. Also wonderful.
Modl omits the final coloratura phrase and just sings the final high B
Maria Callas...
Believe it or not Callas was not a dramatic soprano lyric at the most I heard her twice live and the voice was small
Well she was clearly not a dramatic soprano based on density and tessitura, but I find it hard to believe her voice was small.
She was not as big as a true wagnerian,something like Varnay,Nilsson or Prandl.
But she was penetrating.
Every Callas 'Norma has a ....different size.
The difference between Mexico- CG.-Trieste is enormous
Saioa Hernandez, hands down
The 4 true Lady MacBeth to my taste : Verrett, who had better nights than this one...more articulate "quartolets" even in 1987.
Callas is both a dramatico d' agilità and a dramatic coloratura, it is a game for her. No one like her.
(But the last note is strangely unstable).
Bumbry is good here, but breathes before the high note.
Dimitrova had better nights too.
Though people don't think of it as such, Lady Macbeth is a bel canto role, which requires a singer who has fully mastered the bel canto technique, including fluent and clean coloratura and trills in every register. Callas remains unsurpassed and unsurpassable. Verrett, Bumbry, and Dimitrova do reasonably well, but still miles behind the true mastery of Callas. Mödl is just embarrassing. Varnay, Nilsson, and Rysanek have no coloratura technique to speak of, nor does Hernandez. Pirozzi looks like she's about to die.
Callas is the only one who sings all the notes.
Leyla Gencer???
and whwre is the best of them for me ELENA SULIOTIS???????????❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Jones was just completely flat on the high note. For me it’s Callas and Verrett
She's not disastrously flat as it seems. The main problem with old tapes was pitch. This one simply lower by few degrees than original.
@@omarsomehow69
Then it still sounds good because she’s in tune with the instruments.
@@draganvidic2039 4:34 was flat tho
@@omarsomehow69 I noticed this right off and was surprised. Jones did not normally sing flat, but she certainly does here.
@@ransomcoates546 yes, because she often sang sharp due to her wild oscilations. An erratic night or just an accident I guess. She is human after all, not a robot.
Leyla Gencer?
Leyla Gencer?
Leyla Gencer?
Mödl and Verrett.
Callas!!!!!!
You left out the most important one...ELENA SOULIOTIS! Listen to the Controlled Voice!
Callas and no more
I’m sorry but are you absolutely sure the voice linked to Gwyneth Jones is correct? Nothing about that voice says Gwyneth. The timbre, the approach to high notes not the same vocal heft of Gwyneth. Enjoyed your post by the way. A trophy to any good dramatic soprano who can get through this role still standing.
Yes, it is from here: ruclips.net/video/CtPcbUbxmEA/видео.html
Might sound a little strange because of a tape-speed error, I didn’t manually check any of the pitches.
@@dramaticsoprano5168 Thanks. I stand corrected. I needed to hear more. The beginning of the aria was much better than the end. But hey, it is Macbeth!
For me only Bumbry, Dimitrova and Monastyrska are up to the task. Verrett is best. Callas is in a league of her own.
I feel the main difficulty is the blend between coloratura and dramatic effort, that's why Callas is on top spot for me, but I've enjoyed many of them. every time i hear this opera i just like it more and more
Yesterday I watched The Northman and kept remembering this
One that is not listed here but that I enjoyed too is gilda cruz romo
@@luanllluan I find her voice very beautiful but not dramatic or dark enough for the Lady. She was definitely a spinto and on the more lyric side there too. I enjoy her Butterfly and Violetta however.
@@dramaticsoprano5168 i agree with you. I've only listened to her singing this piece on a concert more later on her career, when the voice has aged a bit, and found it interesting. Perhaps the full opera would be too much to her, although she also sang Turandot
One soprano from the past that was a great Lady Macbeth was Sylvia Sass. She was almost on the level of Callas.
One that I'm really glad was NOT represented here was Netrebko! Her Lady Macbeth is atrocious, as are ALL of her supposed "Dramatic Soprano" roles. It is such a fake sound for her, and ruined the beautiful voice she once had.
@@artdanks4846 I know that Sass is not everyone's choice, but I quite like her. But it seems that it put her voice to shreds, as for Netrebko, I dunno, she was very promising with a beautiful voice for some good years, but then she thought to be Callas reborn and we all know what this has led her to. But in the La Scalla most recent performance I don't believe she was awful, although I agree she was bad. there was some moments I almost liked, but it is definetely not suited for her voice. she should keep the Lady as a concert piece.
How could the much maligned Souliotis not be included here! Apart from Callas and Jones the interpretation offered here are far from those Verdi required!
Because she is not dramatic soprano.
@@andity1 Souliotis not a dramatic soprano are we sure about that
@@christopherrobinwattsthoma6318 absolutely. She has big voice indeed, but more lirical, than dramatic. Probably a lirico-spinto or spinto. I say that because her recordings of dramatic heavy arias were recorded when she was very young and the voice wasn't matured enough.
@@andity1 I bow to your authoritative reply.
@@andity1 Many singers on this list are not natural or pure dramatics however. I agree with you however. Lirico-spinto or even lyric honestly. Her natural timbre is quite a bit brighter than you'd expect from a big soprano too.
In my opinion the best were Maria, Shirley and Grace.....
y la Gencer??
Certainly not a dramatic soprano. Just like about half of singers in this list.
@@omarsomehow69 Who do you think are not pure dramatics here?
Anna Pirozzi sells herself as a 'dramatic coloratura'. Verrett and Callas are difficult to put into one box. Bumbry is somewhere between a dramatic mezzo and a dramatic soprano, I personally think she was more soprano but developed herself as a mezzo.
@@dramaticsoprano5168 i'm not familiar with Pirozzi, but it seems like she is no bigger than a spinto soprano or rather even lyric soprano. Hernandez a big lyric soprano. I saw some people said that in the theater she sounds more brighter and warmer, while some people describe this as "a voice for Boheme, rather than for Gioconda or Lady M". It looks quite truthful to me. She sing a lot of inappropriate material. Verrett more lyric/spinto who were push herself beyond its limits a make her career as mezzo. Bumbry a big voice for sure. But i'm not sure about her being a dramatic soprano. Either spinto or dramatic sorpano. Same for Rysanek and especially Jones. Callas was a dramatic coloratura. Varnay and Dimitrova 100% dramatics. As for Nilsson, for some people it's quite controversial to call her a dramatic soprano because her top was way too easy and the color of the voice is quite bright. But for me it's a not secret that she sang with not so much weight on the middle (the heavy weight on the middle affect the extension of the top), while make her voice brighter. She doesn't sing with full voice in every registers also, so for me it's not even up for debate that Nilsson was a dramatic soprano, but of different kind.
@@omarsomehow69 Interesting points but I do think your standards for dramatic sopranos are a little too high. I use the German system for my videos - remember they have three subtypes of dramatic soprano:
Jugendlich (equivalent in size to spinto)
Dramatischer
Hochdramatischer
I think you are mostly thinking of Hochdramatischer (e.g., Flagstad, Grob-Prandl, Farrell) but I doubt singers of this weight could even handle a role like Lady Macbeth.
@@dramaticsoprano5168 i mean, that's a little different between dramatic soprano in Italian repertoire and in German repertoire. Lady M, if i understand correctly, considered as a role for dramatic coloratura soprano, rather than for pure dramatic.
a lot of mid in here. thank god for callas and verrett.
In sense of clearness, squillo and agility I would rate them as follows Bumbry > Jones ~Verret~Hernandez> Dimitrova~Connel > Nillson > Rysanek > others. This rating is very surprising for me as well, as I would like to see Nillson on top, however she has some issues with agility here and her low notes weaker than that of others. Yet Bumbry, Jones, Verret and Hernandez manage having both strong low register notes as well as agility in quick passages.As of Callas IMHO only thing she is good here is agility (coloratura), whereas her squillo and chiaro-scuro are not outstanding here.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. STUPID OPINION.
Luckily we have Saioa nowadays, she is already the best. In the theatre her voice sounds more gorgeous, with a velvet that is not present in the recordings and yes... she has a huge voice, no volume problems. And she is a lovely person, by the way.
Marisa Galvany should be included
Not a dramatic soprano.
Connell already have cancer at that time.
Callas
Worum fehlt hier Maria Gulegina beste dramatische Sopranistin aller Zeiten?
Manca la grande Fiorenza Cossotto, what a pity!
Callas all the way... Damn, she was rrslly someting...
It was only Callas who fulfilled the demands of this aria. The rest had big voices, but they stumbled on the coloratura lines.
La Verrett, by a country mile! The only one who keeps the rhythm and the beat with the conductor and orchestra. Her articulation of the needed emphasis in the measures and phrases is unrivaled. Bravissima!
By a country mile? With that weak chest voice?
Ha! The most uniformed comment of the week. Anyone lucky enough to have heard La Verrett in her prime would laugh at a comment daring to suggest she possessed "a weak chest voice." In fact, her chest voice was more audible and stronger than the top voice, or, at the least, it was the equal of the top in volume and carrying power. Her middle register became weaker, later in her career, than it had been previously, as it does with nearly all sopranos. Yes indeed, "by a country mile" and much more, to tell the truth.
@@jackhamm1745 awwww yes, her chest voice is VERY WEAK in this ARIA. Are you deaf?
@@awokwok1029 No. Are you deaf and dumb?
Only Callas is great!!!!!
Callas - then anyone else